22 FEBRUARY 2018

Bute And Johnson Are Ready To Rumble

Lucian Bute Goes through the motions for the press

IBF Super Middleweight Champion Lucian Bute and ageless former light heavyweight champion Glen “The Road Warrior’’ Johnson held media workouts in South Florida earlier this week as they prepare for their November 5 showdown at the Pepsi Coliseum in Quebec City, Canada.

The largest box office draw in Canadian boxing, the undefeated, Romanian-born Bute (29-0, 24 KOs) will make the ninth defense of his IBF title and the fight will be broadcast live on Showtime (9 p.m. ET/PT, delayed on the West Coast).

Johnson (51-15-2, 35 KOs), a legend for his bouts against Roy Jones Jr., Bernard Hopkins and Antonio Tarver, will make his 10th appearance in a world title fight. The 42-year-old Jamaican-born Johnson has fought out of Miami for almost two decades.

The winner of Bute vs Johnson could meet the winner of the Super Six World Boxing Classic in the biggest fight in super middleweight history. The Super Six World Boxing Classic concludes on Saturday, December when world champions Andre Ward(World Boxing Association) and Carl Froch(World Boxing Council) clash in the Final in a showdown that will determine the world’s best 168-pound fighter.

Below is what Lucian Bute and Glen Johnson had to say at their respective media workouts

LUCIAN BUTE:“Fighting in Quebec City is special for me. I have very fond memories of my fight and big win in 2009 at the Pepsi Coliseum and I’m very happy to be fighting there again in front of my fans. Quebec City is a fight town, so I expect a great atmosphere come Nov. 5.”

On switching training camp locations from Miami to West Palm Beach:“There are not so many differences in this training camp than others. We may have changed gyms and the city but the rest of my preparation is the same.

“I have good sparring partners with Alejandro Berrio and Randy Griffin. I’m halfway through my training camp and I feel very good. I’m in good shape. I expect a tough battle from Johnson so I have to be well prepared.

“People will judge after the Johnson fight if I’m a top super middleweight or not. I faced my obligations as an IBF champion and fought top-rated opponents. Kessler and Pavlik refused to fight me. So now, I’m in front of the biggest challenge in my career and I want to win and make a statement. After this fight, I want to fight the Super Six winner.

“I’m training for a 12-round fight. My objective is to win the fight and stay world champion. I don’t depend on the KO but if it comes that would be a terrific ending to my fight.”

GLEN JOHNSON :“I’m ready for all the surprises Bute wants to show me on Nov. 5. I know how good he is but I’m going to have some surprises for him, too.”

On his next fight if he beats Bute:“You never know, it depends on what TV and my fans want to see. But I am not going to talk about others fighters other than Lucian right now. I’m concentrated on him, I’m preparing for him, I’m focused on him, and I`m getting ready to beat him. We`ll talk about other fighters after.

“I am aware it’s a huge challenge to fight Bute in Quebec City, but I’m looking forward to the fight. I can`t wait.

“I don’t need to spar with a fighter to know that I can beat him. Yes, I trained with Bute in the past. Yes, we had good sparring together and yes I’m very confident I can beat this guy. That`s all that needs to be said.

“I can’t lose my next fight with Bute. I’m the one who needs the victory the most. It’s a do or die situation for me.”